I’ve never a writer who is technically proficient in my chosen form: poetry. I’ve taken a couple of poetry classes. The main thing I remember from them is my word choices for a sestina exercise. My classmates came with serious pieces. Me? My sestina was based on  song titles from The Beastie Boys’ Licensed to Ill. However, I do read a lot. I read poetry (not as much as I should considering I’m a poet), fiction, non-fiction, historical fiction, etc. These books have been my number one source of absorbing the craft of writing. That is, until I started working on my next book (#4).  I realized I needed a jumpstart and after much research, decided on The Poet’s Companion by Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux. As I work my way through the book and selected exercises, I will be sharing my thoughts and pieces here.

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